Association between Emotional Labor and Symptoms of Depression among Bankers / 대한산업의학회지

OBJECTIVES: We focused on the relationship between symptoms of depression and emotional labor to investigate the mental health status of workers. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 2,346 workers among bankers were our study subjects. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess the socio-demographics, job characteristics, emotional labor and, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale (CES-D). We used multiple logistic regression analysis to estimate the relationship between emotional labor and the symptoms of depression. RESULTS: The prevalence of symptoms of depression among the survey subjects was 20.6%. After adjusting for confounding factors, emotional effort (OR: 1.7, 95% CI=1.28~2.31) and, emotional disharmony (OR: 4.5, 95% CI=3.13~6.44) in men and emotional effort (OR: 1.9, 95% CI=1.33~2.75), emotional disharmony (OR: 6.1, 95% CI=4.12~9.09) in women showed a statistically significant association with symptoms of depression. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that emotional disharmony and emotional effort are related to symptoms of depression. Managing emotional disharmony is important in managing symptoms of depression.

The Comparison of Job Stress Factors, Psychosocial Stress and Their Association between Research and Manufacturing Workers in an Automobile Research and Developing Company / 대한산업의학회지

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to investigate the job stress factors, psychosocial stress and their associations in workers engaged in the research and development of vehicles, and according to job role. METHODS: We recruited 4,066 subjects from workers at a research and development center of an automobile company. A total of 2,764 workers answered the questionnaire about socio-demographic factors, health behaviors, work-related factors, subjective labor intensity, KOSS, and SF-PWI. The final analysis included 2,282 male manufacturing and research workers. Univariate analyses and multiple logistic analyses were conducted on the complete questionnaire data to compare the job stress factors, psychosocial stress and their associations between research and manufacturing workers. RESULTS: The adjusted Odds ratios comparing the high risk group to the low risk group regarding PWI group were 2.23(95%CI=1.63-3.04) in "Lack of rewards", 1.64(95%CI=1.20-2.24) in "Interpersonal conflict", 1.59(95%CI=1.15- 2.20) in "Organizational injustice", 1.58(95%CI=1.17-2.14) in "Occupational climate" and 1.43(95%CI=1.05-1.94) in "Job insecurity" among research workers, and 2.46(95%CI=1.59 -3.80) in "Lack of rewards" and 1.94(95%CI=1.17-3.22) in "Organizational injustice" among manufacturing workers. CONCLUSIONS: There are differences in job stress factors between research and manufacturing workers. Further studies and discussions based on quantitative methodology for seeking more fundamental causes of these differences are required to establish job stress intervention plans and policies.

Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Related Factors in Firefighters of a Firestation / 대한산업의학회지

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the factors related with posttraumatic symptoms and to estimate the prevalence of posttraumatic disorder of urban male firefighters. METHODS: From a study sample comprising 260 male firefighters from one fire station, the responses from 146 who had experienced one or more traumatic events, responded to the 'Impact of Event Scale-Revised Korean version' (IES-R-K) and didn't show any evidence of depression were analyzed. We surveyed the firefighters using a self-administered questionnaire including general characteristics, job-related characteristics, IES-R-K, and a 'Firefighters and paramedics' incident stressor'. RESULTS: The mean value of IES-R-K in this study was 11.3 and it was higher in the married firefighters than in the unmarried firefighters (p=0.005) and in the 24-hr shift workers than in the ordinary day shift workers (p=0.032). The frequency of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) of the firefighters in this study using IES-R-K was 13.7%, with a cutoff point of 24/25. The overall number of experiences of 25 traumatic events was larger in emergency medical personnel and rescue workers than in other work functions (p=0.000). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of PTSD symptoms in firefighters was estimated to 13.7% using IES-RK and was higher than the prevalence of PTSD in the general population. A program to manage the mental health and provide early detection for mental illness for firefighters is needed.